EP0180588A1

EP0180588A1 - Arrangement for safety belt

Info

Publication number: EP0180588A1
Application number: EP84903299A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Hanafi Ameur
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1983-08-08
Filing date: 1984-09-05
Publication date: 1986-05-14
Also published as: SE8304319L; WO1985001217A1; AU3395284A; SE438264B; SE8304319D0; JPS60502151A; US4678134A

Abstract

Dispositif pour ceintures de sécurité comportant un détecteur détectant la vitesse de déroulement de la courroie de la ceinture à l'aide d'une ou de plusieurs surfaces de référence disposées sur l'axe de la courroie (2) ou sur la courroie de la ceinture (1), au moins un dispositif de blocage étant activé lors du dépassement d'une vitesse de déroulement prédéterminée et bloquant la courroie de la ceinture afin d'empêcher son déroulement. Un autre détecteur détecte l'accélération/la décélération/l'inclinaison du véhicule et active au moins un dispositif de blocage lors du dépassement de la valeur prédéterminée d'accélération/de décélération/d'inclinaison et bloque par conséquent la courroie de la ceinture pour empêcher son déroulement. Le dispositif comporte un détecteur enrouleur de ceintures pouvant être relié à d'autres détecteurs pour détecter d'autres états.Device for seat belts comprising a sensor which detects the speed of the belt belt unwinding by means of one or more reference surfaces arranged on the axis of the belt (2) or on the belt belt (1), at least one locking device being activated when exceeding a predetermined unwinding speed and locking the belt belt in order to prevent it from unwinding. Another sensor detects the acceleration / deceleration / tilt of the vehicle and activates at least one locking device when exceeding the predetermined value of acceleration / deceleration / tilt and therefore locks the belt belt. to prevent its unfolding. The device includes a belt retractor detector which can be linked to other detectors to detect other conditions.

Description

Arrangement for safety belt The present invention relates to safety belts for passengers in vehicles such as motor cars, aeroplanes and other wheeled vehicles etc. More closely defined, the invention relates to such safety belts as comprise at least one strap roller for winding on and off at least one belt strap as well as at least one locking arrangement which locks the belt strap and prevents further unwinding from the strap roller once a limit value has been exceeded as regards the belt strap speed/ acceleration and the acceleration/deceleration / inclination of the vehicle, aeroplane etc. or as regards any other condition such as speed/height etc. at which the belt strap must be locked.

All previously known designs have the disadvantage that they are not equipped quickly and accurately to sense and prevent unwinding from the strap roller once a limit value in respect of a certain condition has been exceeded or reached.

The present invention aims at overcoming the above and other disadvantages of known safety belt systems. This was achieved as soon as the arrangement for a safety belt herewith described were imparted the characteristics stated in the patent claims and explained below, from which it follows that one main feature of the invention consists in that the belt strap is locked against unwinding with the aid of at least one locking arrangement which is activated when a preselected limit value has been reached or exceeded as regards the speed/acceleration of the belt strap or the acceleration/deceleration/inclination of the vehicle etc.

The invention is described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings and diagrammatic presentations in which

Pig. 1 is a diagrammatic view showing an embodiment of a safety- belt arrangement in which a reference surface/surfaces arranged on a strap spindle in accordance with the invention is/are sensed.

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view showing an embodiment of a safety belt arrangement in which a reference surface/surfaces arranged on the belt strap in accordance with the invention is/are sensed.

Fig. 3 is a view showing an embodiment of a strap spindle in accordance with the invention. Fig. 4 is a view showing an embodiment of the look casing (9) in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 5 is a block diagram illustrating in general terms a strap speed detector in accordance with, the invention. Fig. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a strap speed detector with optical sensing in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view of an acceleration/deceleration/ inclination detector for vehicles, aeroplanes etc. in accordance with, the invention. Fig. 8 is a block diagram of an acceleration/deceleration/ inclination detector in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 9 is a block diagram of a belt take-up detector in accordance with, the invention.

Fig. 1 shows a safety belt system comprising (at least) one belt strap (l) which can be wound on to/unwound from a spindle (2) mounted within an appropriately formed frame housing (3)* which is secured at the required point in the vehicle. A winding device (4), e.g. a helical spring, is linked with the shaft (2) and arranged to maintain the belt strap (1) wound on to the spindle (2). The free end of the strap is provided with some suitable locking mechanism, e.g. a diagrammatically illustrated male part (5) which can be locked by insertion into a corresponding female part (6), also shown in diagrammatic form and located at a required suitable point in the vehicle. The above parts may be of as such well known design. Strap spindle (2) is provided with at least one reference surface (10) which is sensed by a detector (7) arranged in a casing (9) stationary relative to the strap roller. The sensing detector corresponds to the reference surface/surfaces.

The reference surface/surfaces (lθ) can be conductive, surrounded by non-conductive layers and sensed by an appropriate detector such as pickup brushes. The reference surface/surfaces can be reflective, surrounded by non-reflective layers and sensed by an optical detector, or magnetic, surrounded by non-magnetic layers and sensed by an appropriate detector (inductive sensing). These are only examples of a reference surface/surfaces with an appropriately adapted sensing detector. Fig. 2 and 2' differ from fig. 1 to the extent that the reference surface/surfaces (10) is/are arranged on belt strap (1) and the detector (7) is arranged within a casing (22) stationary relative to the strap roller and situated within the sensor casing (9"). As for the reference surface/surfaces, this is/these are reflective, magnetic or of similar type with an appropriate sensing detector. Some examples are described above in connection with fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows an embodiment of the strap spindle (2) with sensing surfaces (10) arranged on its side (2). Fig. 4 shows an embodiment of a lock casing (9) arranged for receiving a sensing detector within a corresponding casing (9').

Fig. 5 shows in general terms how the reference surface/surfaces is/are sensed by a detector. Pulses from the sensing detector (7) are transmitted via a pulse forming circuit to the strap speed detector unit. Two consecutive pulses are fed into two memory circuits "N" and "N-1" whereby a time circuit measures the interval between the pulses. The time circuit has a constant (but variable number) corresponding to the limit value for the strap speed/acceleration. If this value is exceeded the time circuit passes a signal to a locking arrangement (8) whereby the belt strap is prevented from unwinding. The locking arrangement can be an electric magnet, a motor or a similar device.

Fig. 6 shows an embodiment with a reference surface/surfaces suitable for optical sensing. In all other respects it is identical with Fig. 3. Fig. 7 shows the other detector, i.e. the acceleration/deceleration/ inclination detector (12a). The latter consists of a substantially cup-shaped and conical support (14) and comprises a sphere (15) displaceable in every radial direction from a position of rest at the lowest point (16). With the detector (7) a light emitter (17) is preferably located in the opening (18) of the cover of the cup, which coincides with a light receiver (19), in this case on the underside of the cup. The cup consists of transparent material such as glass, transparent plastic or a similar substance. The light receiver (19) is connected to a pulse-forming circuit and when the sphere moves from the centre as a result of acceleration/deceleration/inclination a signal is given, whenever the light (20) from the light emitter (17) is sensed by the light receiver (19)-

Fig. 8 shows a block diagram relating to the acceleration/deceleration/inclination detector. Further to the description of the above detector (12a) (fig. 7) it operates in that the light receiver's signal (which occurs when the sphere moves from the centre and passes through light (20) from the light emitter) is pulsed so as to activate via an activating circuit at least one locking arrangement (8) through control unit (11). The inclination value depends on the angle of conicity (3) of the cup. The light emitter may be an infra-red light emitter with a corresponding suitable light receiver. Furthermore, the cup-shaped conical support (14) may be filled with liquid in order to achieve a required degree of inertia (so that the sphere will not move at relatively low acceleration/deceleration values). Since the sphere moves in every radial direction acceleration/deceleration/inclination can be sensed irrespective of the direction throughout 360°.

The electronic/electrical control/regulating unit and the arrangement shown in the drawings operate as follows: The control/regulating unit (11) is connected to a suitable current source such as a car battery, advantageously via a fuse and an accumulator with adequate capacity to enable at least one belt locking operation after possible failure or short-circuiting of the current source.

If the control unit (11) also comprises a belt take-up control system, the actual number of passengers is set at the control unit (11). The passengers put on the belts. If the arrangement is used in conjunction with arrangements for controlling belt fastening at the lock the control unit (11 ) can be so designed that locking of the strap winding mechanism is only possible if the lock components are correctly inserted in one another (see fig. 9). Fig. 1 shows a strap speed/acceleration detector (7) which transmits a signal to a locking arrangement (8) when the said preselected value is exceeded. The detector (7) may be designed in various ways and consist e.g. in a transducer rotating together with strap spindle (2). With this embodiment (fig. 6) the detector (7) is an opto-electric detector located on the sensor casing (9') outside the rotary spindle (2). The detector cooperates with one or several reflective surfaces (10) located centrally opposite the detector (7) rotating jointly with the strap spindle (2).

Since the reference surface/surfaces (lθ) is/are fixed the time interval between the detection of two consecutive reference surfaces constitutes a measure for the strap unwinding speed/acceleration. By comparison with an appropriate time circuit (described below) the unwinding speed/acceleration can be simply read and when It exceeds the preselected limit value a locking arrangement (8) is activated, which locks the strap spindle (2) in relation to the frame. The detector (7) may also be designed in other ways (fig. 5) (see description in respect of fig. 1 ) .

Fig. 2 and 2' differ from fig. 1 inasmuch as the reference surfaces are arranged on the belt strap. The belt strap passes through an opening (21) centrally opposite one side of which (22) there is a sensor casing (9") which houses a detector (7). The belt strap must be provided with several reference surfaces separated to a certain extent on that part of the strap which is wound on to or unwound from the strap roller. Since the reference surfaces are fixed the time interval between the detection of two consecutive reference surfaces is a measure of the strap unwinding speed/acceleration. By comparison with a suitable time circuit (described below) the strap unwinding speed/ acceleration can be simply read and when it exceeds or reaches the preselected limit value at least one locking arrangement (8) is activated, which locks the belt strap thus preventing it from unwinding. In e.g. a car it is sufficient to instal a sensing detector in the driver's strap roller whereby, once the preselected value of strap speed/acceleration has been reached, all locking arrangements in the remaining strap rollers not provided with sensing detectors are activated. Similarly it is the case that not more than one acceleration/deceleration/inclination detector is required in a car.

Triggering of at least one locking arrangement (8) by the detector (7) is preferably effected by means of an electrical/electronic control unit (11) described in detail below. The strap locking mechanism differs from the existing types in that locking of the belt strap so as to prevent unwinding is brought about with the aid of at least one electrical/electronic arrangement which passes a pulse to at least one locking arrangement (8) as soon as a preselected strap speed/ acceleration value has been reached or exceeded. With this design an accurate and speedy reading of the strap speed/acceleration is achieved, a signal being transmitted to a locking arrangement (8), which locks the belt strap quickly and reliably so as to prevent unwinding. With the aid of the strap speed/acceleration detector a change in state as regards the speed/acceleration of the strap is measured whereby at least one locking arrangement is activated so as to lock the belt strap and prevent it from unwinding once the preselected belt speed/acceleration limit value has been measured.

Similarly the control unit (11) may register when the preselected acceleration/deceleration/inclination occurs. In this case the control unit (11) is connected with the strap speed/acceleration detector (7), the acceleration/deceleration/inclination detector (12a) and a belt take-up detector (12b) and may possibly be connected with a speed/ height detector (12c) and also a stillstand detector (l2d).

All detector connected with the control unit (n) have this in common that they coordinate and activate at least one locking arrangement (8) when a certain limit value for a detector has been reached or exceeded whereby at least one belt strap is locked so as to prevent it from unwinding. Going beyond the above examples the control unit (11) may e.g. be connected to the strap lock in a simple manner. For instance a suitably located contact or microswitch may indicate when the locking element is in the locking position whereby a corresponding signal is passed to the control unit (11). The system can be supplemented and refined by providing a speed/height detector (12c) in vehicles, aeroplanes etc. so that when a certain speed/height is measured in respect of them a signal is passed to the control unit (11) and to a stillstand detector (l2d) which senses when the vehicle is stationary.

The electrical/electronic control unit (11) may e.g. comprise even more state detectors. The most essential are the strap speed/acceleration detector and the acceleration/deceleration/inclination detector as well as (12b) and possibly (12c). The electrical/electronic control unit may also comprise a belt take-up detector (fig. 9). The belt take-up detector makes it possible to ensure correct insertion of the male locking component into the female locking component. When the belt locking components are inserted a signal is passed from every such lock to the control unit (11), whereby locking arrangements are operated as soon as the limit values of various detectors have been reached or exceeded. With incorrect locking of the belt locking components or if the belt is not put on a warning signal is given until the belt has been put on. With such a belt take-up detector the locking arrangement/s can be operated only after the passenger/s have put on the belt so that the male locking component is correctly inserted in the female locking component.

In block diagram (fig. 9) a passenger sensing circuit senses when the passenger sits down on his seat. A signal is passed to the control unit as a result of which the belt components are locked provided that the locking arrangement/s is/are released within a preselected time, e.g. 30 seconds. This enables the passenger to put on the belt without repeated locking of the strap roller. Once the preselected time has elapsed a warning signal is given through an output unit such as a buzzer, an alarm light or a similar device until the belt has been put on. If the belt has been put on the contact for the locking arrangement/s closes. Closing of the contact causes these locking arrangements to operate and to be activated whenever the state detectors sense that a limit value has been reached or exceeded.

Fig. 9. The belt take-up detector differs from existing types in that it is equipped with a time circuit with a preselected (but variable) number so that when this number is exceeded an alarm signal is released through an output unit of a warning circuit. In addition, the said belt take-up detector makes it possible to increase the passengers' comfort by not producing a warning signal as soon as a passenger has sat down on his seat but also inasmuch as the locking arrangement/s can be activated only if the belt has been put on correctly and not while one is putting on the belt strap in order to lock it. The invention is of course not limited to the above embodiments specially shown in the drawings, many modifications and variations being possible within the framework of the following patent claims.

Claims

PAT EN T C LA IM S

1. An arrangement for such safety belts as comprise at least one strap roller for winding on and off at least one belt strap (1) and at least one locking arrangement which locks the belt strap and prevents further unwinding of the strap roller c h ar a c t e r i s e in that it comprises a detector (7) stationary relative to the strap roller (3), which senses at least one reference surface/surfaces (10) on a rotating strap spindle (2) or belt strap (1) at least once per revolution and passes a signal to a memory arrangement whenever a reference surface is detected whereby the memory arrangement is designed to register the time interval between signals received and to activate at least one locking arrangement such as an electric magnet, motor or similar device when the preselected unwinding value is exceeded whereby the belt strap(s) is (are) locked to prevent unwinding and in that additional detectors are arranged for sensing other states.

2. An arrangement in accordance with claim 1 c h ar a c t e r i s e d in that the first named detector (7) is located in a stationary casing (9)/(22) on the strap roller and arranged centrally opposite a reference surface or surfaces (10).

3- An arrangement in accordance with claim 1 and 2 c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the first named detector (7) is an opto-electric detector (7) (figs. 5-6) and that the reference surface/ surfaces (10) is/are light reflective and surrounded by a surface/ surfaces contrasting therewith, provided on either the strap spindle (2) or the belt strap (1).

4. An arrangement in accordance with claims 1-4 in which a second detector for sensing the acceleration/deceleration/ inclination of a vehicle or similar device is provided, comprising a substantially cup-shaped support (14) which contains a sphere (15) freely movable in every radial direction from a position of rest at the lowest point ch a r a c t e r i s e d in that a transmitter (17) is arranged centrally opposite the lowest point (l6) in/on or at the lowest point (lβ) of the cup on the opposite side of the cup where there is a corresponding receiver (19) and in that the said receiver senses the transmitter signal(s) (20) when the sphere (15) leaves the lowest point (l6) whereby the receiver transmits the sensing signal/s via a pulse forming circuit to an activating circuit which activates at least one locking device as a result of which the belt strap(s) is locked so as to prevent unwinding.

5. An arrangement in accordance with patent claim 4 c har ac t e ri s e d in that the transmitter is a light emitter and the receiver is a corresponding light receiver.

6. An arrangement in accordance with claims 4-5 c h ar a c t e r i s e d in that the light emitter is an infra-red light emitter with a corresponding light receiver.

7» An arrangement in accordance with claims 1 to 6 in which a third detector for checking belt take-up is provided, which comprises at least one passenger sensing circuit connected with a lock sensing circuit c har a c t e r i s e d in that the latter is connected with a time circuit with a preselected number so that if the said number is exceeded a warning signal is passed to an alarm lamp and/or buzzer or similar device if the belt has not been put on or the contact for the locking arrangement(s) has not been closed etc. so that the latter is/are operated in order to lock the belt strap to prevent it unwinding whenever the detectors' limit value has been reached or exceeded while putting on a belt.